A wrongful death claim is a cause of action that asserts that the death of a person was caused by the wrongful or negligent act of another person. Common examples of wrongful death claims are medical malpractice cases where the patient dies, fatal drunk driving accidents and asbestos related deaths. These are only a few of the possible wrongful death claims. As you can see, a wrongful death can come from almost any set of circumstances but all have in common the negligence of another person.
The amount of time that you have to file a wrongful death action can vary from state to state. The type of wrongful death that you are alleging may also affect the time frame within which you must file the claim. Each state determines their own statute of limitations for different types of actions. A statute of limitations is just a legal term for the time frame that you have to file your action. If you do not file within the allotted time frame, you are usually forever barred from filing and subsequently receiving compensation.
In the State of California, California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1 governs the periods of time within which you must file a wrongful death action in most circumstances. Section 335.1 states that claimants must file a wrongful death action within two years of the death that gave rise to the claim. There are, however, exceptions to the general two year statute of limitations. For instance, if you believe that a government entity or municipality was responsible for the death, then you must put them on notice within 180 days of the death. As you can see, this shortens the time frame considerably. Another example of an exception is for a death caused by the exposure to asbestos. In that case, Section 340.2 applies and requires that the claim be filed within one year of the death of the decedent OR within one year from the date the plaintiff first knew, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that the death was caused or contributed to by such exposure – whichever date is later. Lastly, when the claimant in a wrongful death action is a minor, the statute of limitations is tolled – meaning put on hold – until the minor reaches the age of majority. If the death was intentional, as in the case of murder, the statute of limitations may also be extended depending on whether the person was convicted of the crime and whether they are incarcerated.
As you can see, knowing how long you have to file a wrongful death claim is extremely important. In some cases you may only have six months to protect your claim. The law is ever-changing and it is best to check with an experienced wrongful death attorney as soon as you feel that you might have a wrongful death case. If you would like a free detailed evaluation of a potential California wrongful death case, please feel free to contact California wrongful death lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com
